Roku Firestick or Chromecast

[ruxCYtable]

I have all three and you really can't go wrong with any of them. I would say Chromecast and Roku are a little more content neutral, whereas Amazon understandably tries to push their own material. I guess if you put my feet to the fire I have a slight preference for Roku but they're all good.

 

[iastatehunter]

Apple TV is by far the best/fastest streaming device I've used. Won't go back to Roku/Chromecast.

 

[enisthemenace]

Another Roku user here. We have 8 of them (I know…kinda sick, but quit judging me!). I think we leverage every model, a lot of different ways, throughout the house:

- 3 Roku TVs - 2 WiFi and 1 MoCA wired
- 2 Ultras - both hardwired
- 1 Streaming Stick 4K with a Vizio that is MoCA wired
- 2 Streaming Stick+ that are WiFi (one of these was used to bring a Sony Wega from the late 90’s back to life)

We’re pretty satisfied.

EDIT: I lied. We have 7. The Vizio doesn’t need one. So we have 1 Streaming Stick 4K and 1 Streaming Stick+

 

[somecyguy]

The only advice I have, is if you choose Chromecast, purchase the one with an ethernet port. I use mine almost exclusively for sports and it works great, but even great wifi has difficulty keeping up.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Tell me more pls. I haven't been thrilled with my Roku and youtube tv streaming. What is it about the apple tv components that allows for a better experience? Maybe I need to switch.

There is nothing to this but Apple fanboyism. Both Cnet and Consumer Reports rate Roku, Fire and Chromecast higher than Apple. If you are having problems with your experience it is either your ISP or your router itself. For the price of one Apple TV box you could have one of the others on every TV in your house.

 

[ruxCYtable]

The only advice I have, is if you choose Chromecast, purchase the one with an ethernet port. I use mine almost exclusively for sports and it works great, but even great wifi has difficulty keeping up.

Again, I would suggest this is an ISP or network hardware problem. There is no such thing as a streaming device that can't keep up. We have 300mbps service, I have multiple TVs going at once on sports days, crystal-clear HD, no freezes, stutters or hiccups of any kind.

 

[Clonefan32]

We've done both Roku and Firestick and I'd prefer a Roku. I'm out on Chromecast.

 

[Clonehomer]

Never used a fire stick. But I have 2 Chromecast TV's, 1 Apple TV 4K, and a few Roku Ultras. I like the Roku's the best for the ease of use. Their remotes are the best in that you can control what you need to control.

The Chromecast works OK. I got it since I wanted it completely hidden and I liked it over the Roku stick as I could stream video to it from my phone if I wanted. The remote is kinda small for me and the buttons are extremely sensitive which is annoying if you're up and around and want to put it in your pocket. It does freeze on occasion or takes a while to load an app at times.

The Apple is OK. Takes a bit longer to load. We don't use the other Apple products, so maybe that would change opinions to have music and everything on the device. Biggest issue is the Apple remote is straight garbage. I ended up with a Harmony remote on that. I don't know what I'd do now that Logitech discontinued those.

Roku's are solid. Nothing fancy, but they work and never buffer. I have the Ultra's so I could hard wire them. Got the rechargeable remote for TV and volume control along with private listening (a godsend if you have loud kids). Only gripe I can think of is no TV source selection on the remote if you have gaming systems hooked to the TV as well.

 

[ruxCYtable]

We've done both Roku and Firestick and I'd prefer a Roku. I'm out on Chromecast.

I ruled out Chromecast for several years but the new ones with a dedicated remote are great.

 

[Triggermv]

There is nothing to this but Apple fanboyism. Both Cnet and Consumer Reports rate Roku, Fire and Chromecast higher than Apple. If you are having problems with your experience it is either your ISP or your router itself. For the price of one Apple TV box you could have one of the others on every TV in your house.

I second that Apple TV is the best of all the options, especially since they got some of their remote issues figured out with their latest models. This opinion is coming from the opposite of an Apple fanboy. In fact, I don't even own an IPhone anymore as I much prefer Samsung Droids to the newer IPhones.

 

[somecyguy]

Again, I would suggest this is an ISP or network hardware problem. There is no such thing as a streaming device that can't keep up. We have 300mbps service, I have multiple TVs going at once on sports days, crystal-clear HD, no freezes, stutters or hiccups of any kind.

That's just my anecdotal evidence. I've got an Orbi mesh network with good wifi and ~200mbps service. Same chromecast device using wifi stutters at times, but wired works great.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Both are too slow to watch sports, I went Apple TV.

my amazon stick is super slow but my roku tv works just fine so idk

The new 4k Firesticks stream sports just as well as anything else out there. I've replaced all of my old sticks and replaced them with the 4ks and have been very happy. They will be like $25 during Amazon's black Friday sales.

 

[houjix]

Roku's are solid. Nothing fancy, but they work and never buffer. I have the Ultra's so I could hard wire them. Got the rechargeable remote for TV and volume control along with private listening (a godsend if you have loud kids). Only gripe I can think of is no TV source selection on the remote if you have gaming systems hooked to the TV as well.

This is my biggest gripe as well. However, depending on the game system and TV, it can autoswitch when you turn them on and the Roku will switch back when you activate it. Doesn't help if you still use an antenna though.

 

[ruxCYtable]

I second that Apple TV is the best of all the options, especially since they got some of their remote issues figured out with their latest models. This opinion is coming from the opposite of an Apple fanboy. In fact, I don't even own an IPhone anymore. I much prefer Samsung Droids to the newer IPhones.

I'm sure they are fine, even if overpriced like everything Apple. But the people saying Roku, Fire and Chromecast are incapable of keeping up, it is simply not true. Those people are experiencing some other problem.

 

[Clonehomer]

The only advice I have, is if you choose Chromecast, purchase the one with an ethernet port. I use mine almost exclusively for sports and it works great, but even great wifi has difficulty keeping up.

Chromecast issues seem to be app based. TNF on Amazon will buffer a lot more on my Chromecast TV's than any other device. I usually switch over to the Samsung app for that on our living room TV. But ESPN and YTTV have no issues.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Again, I would suggest this is an ISP or network hardware problem. There is no such thing as a streaming device that can't keep up. We have 300mbps service, I have multiple TVs going at once on sports days, crystal-clear HD, no freezes, stutters or hiccups of any kind.

The early firesticks definitely struggled with streaming sports but yes, the majority of the issues are due to ISP/home network.

 

[ruxCYtable]

That's just my anecdotal evidence. I've got an Orbi mesh network with good wifi and ~200mbps service. Same chromecast device using wifi stutters at times, but wired works great.

Understood. Wired is still preferable if you can pull it off. I have personally found it unnecessary but I agree with you in principle.

 

[Triggermv]

I'm sure they are fine, even if overpriced like everything Apple. But the people saying Roku, Fire and Chromecast are incapable of keeping up, it is simply not true. Those people are experiencing some other problem.

Most all are fine with keeping up as long as you have one of the more recent models. Those complaining about the Apple TV remote in all models except the latest are well justified. However, the new remote is pretty spectacular and I'd argue better than all the other remotes of the other streaming devices out there now. Yes, Apple absolutely charges too much for the device as compared to how incrementally superior its product is compared to its competitors, which will and justifiably should keep a lot of people way. However, that doesn't change the fact that if you want the absolute best out there right now, I'd argue the latest version of the 4K AppleTV is that. If you are on a budget and can't stomach the price, I'd argue Roku is your next best option.

 

[1100011CS]

Related question: i've been thinking about a new TV and I'm wondering if I should skip smart tvs and just get a good, regular TV and use a Firestick. That way you can upgrade the streaming hardware without getting a new TV. Does that seem reasonable? Can you even get a TV that isn't 'smart' anymore?

 

[SeaClone]

I have read a bunch of reviews anyone have first hand stories? We have lightning fast internet and great router so does it even matter that much? This TV almost exclusively used for ESPN+ watching volleyball.

I have 8 TVs with various versions of the FireStick on them, up to a few of the 4K version. I had one older Roku stick. I have not used any newer Roku devices, so maybe the UI has been updated, but based on my experience, I prefer the UI on the FireStick. I have had zero issues with streaming anything on them. The recent ones improved the remotes to allow selection of TV controls (except input select, which I believe is a problem with all OE remotes for these devices). I did not go with AppleTV, because it would cost a mint to outfit 8 TVs, and during PrimeDay they are like $25 or $30, so I can update a few as needed on my more frequently used TVs as necessary for technology changes, rather than being married to the Apple devices.